To Lapis’ great surprise, she was transported to Avalon where they sat in a cosy room full of plush pillows and a warm hearth. The flames were playing softly across the thick branches and gradually reducing them to ash.

  "So you met her at the end of the Age of Heroes." Emperor Theon looked at Freya who blushed. "You told me you were a thousand years old."

  "One, two, or three thousand... What's the difference if the only thing you can do is to stay in the darkness under the mountains?" Freya grumbled with a shrug. "Besides, I was occupied with collecting knowledge about the Dwarves and their artifacts so the time flew."

  "Mhm..." Theon hummed unconvinced but he wasn't bothered, just amused. "Just wait until we tell Lavender. You used to tease her about her age."

  "Are you really that petty that you would remind a woman about her age?" Freya feigned an indignant shock.

  "He doesn't have to, Sister." Ten more women entered the room, causing Lapis to panic. One of them was grinning. "Or should I say, older Sister?"

  While nine of them were beautiful beyond any imagination, one of them seemed almost mundane in comparison. However, she strode with the same confidence as the other women. Freya gave out a short yelp and covered her face with her hands.

  "Well, well, well..." The tall Dryad approached the pouting Dwarfess and leaned forward with her slender hands resting on her hips. Her green dress sparkled with every colour and trailed behind her like a river of flowers.

  "Fine!" Dwarfess finally relented with a sigh.

  "Stop it, girls..." Hestia moved in front of Lapis and looked at her with a gaze full of curiosity as she unfolded a large map in front of the Rabbitkin-shaped core. "Theon?"

  "The Navy is preparing for a full-scale assault. The ground forces, Adventurers, and Titans were recalled to the nearest garrison and they are preparing to be deployed at a moment's notice." He replied calmly. "Nonetheless, we still have about two hours before everyone gets to their assigned ship. Then..." He looked at Lapis with a grin. "Let's hope we can find that bastard quickly."

  She gulped seeing his confident smile but couldn't help but feel as if something had clasped its claws around her heart.

  "A full-scale assault?" Lapis asked with her eyes wide open. Her long, rabbit ears twitched in distress. "Isn't that a bit too reckless? I... I mean you trusted me just like that... I..."

  "Oh, don't worry." He laughed. "There is a big difference between preparing and commencing. Before anything, my Eagles and Wyverns will perform an aerial scouting mission. Once they narrow down the possible locations for Vestargo, the Navy will commence a more detailed reconnaissance. Once we find him... This war will end."

  Lapis realised that she was holding her breath. She looked at the women surrounding her and focused on Freya who lightly nodded. Theon Avalon was radiating confidence so stalwart that it was contagious.

  "Is JDF ready?" He looked at the Dwarfess who grinned widely.

  "The main forces are ready to be deployed anytime. The secondary and tertiary forces are going to protect the borders. If we find Vestargo, I expect him to launch a desperate attack in an attempt to drive away our forces. He won't have much time for anything else."

  "I'm certain of it." Theon nodded and rubbed his chin as he sat on a large pillow and picked up a glass of wine. "And yes, he won't have time to do much."

  "You are underestimating that monster," Lapis whispered in a trembling, choked voice. "I needed a thousand years to covertly gather enough forces to break free from his control and I almost failed. If not for your assistance, Vestargo would have killed me. I horribly miscalculated. My army wasn't even close enough to overthrow his servants living in the nearby forests."

  She put together her hands to stop them from shaking but she was terrified. Vestargo was mad. No one could tell what he would do.

  "You were surprised that I trusted you," Theon Avalon said in an amused tone. "The moment you swore your allegiance to me, your entire history was unravelled before my eyes. I learnt exactly who you are. I also learnt about Vestargo's crimes and how you tried to save Mortals. I also learnt about your failures and the punishments you received. Nonetheless, you never stopped. You wanted to stop him. I saw enough to know who you are."

  She closed her eyes and felt her nails press painfully on the top of her hands. Those memories were too painful.

  "You never wanted to be a warrior." He continued calmly after taking a sip of his wine. "But you always wanted to make a difference."

  "I just wanted everyone to live fulfilling lives," Lapis said quietly.

  "That's what makes you different from those living now." Freya sighed with melancholy for something she never experienced. "You still remember the days of peace and lived through the times that became ancient tales for us. But don't worry."

  "I will put an end to Vestargo's bloody reign." The Emperor said.

  ???

  Blackbeard left Dauntless in a hurry and just twenty minutes later he was standing on the bridge of his frigate. While he would have liked to spend a few moments talking with his wife, he knew that finding Vestargo was the priority.

  "Status?" He asked as he dropped on his command throne and multiple screens opened around him.

  "The ship is resupplied and the last crew members will board the ship in the next five minutes or so ..." The first officer looked at his wrist watch. "She will be ready to sail in ten minutes, Sir."

  "Aye..." Edward nodded solemnly and focused on the reports scattered around him.

  The next few minutes passed in a busy but quiet chittering of calm orders given by bridge crew to their departments. Rear Admiral Edward Teach smiled to himself as he read the reports and discovered that nothing of concern happened when he was gone. The former pirates who now served on Queen Anne's Revenge were unbelievably changed. The rough and violent men had disappeared and in their place were rough but disciplined soldiers. They were shockingly loyal to Arcadia and they used decades of collective experience to aid their trusted captain. But they weren't completely selfless in their current behaviour. The life offered by the Empire to those in its service and the guarantees of a calm, peaceful retirement had convinced most of his people. The rest soon realised they had no other choice. The fools who left Blackbeard earlier were being a menace somewhere in the south and continually chased by, essentially, every country with no safe port to hide in.

  And there wasn't a safer port than one under the banner of Arcadia.

  Wealth? They were paid more than enough. Women? Like all the soldiers of the Empire, there were many women more than willing to give them a chance, more than even their wild fantasies could handle. Thrill of a fight? They were in the Special Forces. They had seen more combat than some of them would like. Power? They had it. All of that and a simple fact that the Emperor gave them citizenship and equal rights beyond being only in name.

  However, all of them realised that it was just a sweet carrot. In his other hand, the Emperor held the biggest stick imaginable, or rather, an entire branch with a multitude of equally terrifying sticks. A multitude of possible punishments, some of which they themselves had personally delivered to bandits and pirates who tried to terrorise the people of Arcadia, was horrifying. Death often seemed lenient in comparison.

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  "We are ready to sail, Captain!" One of his former pirates, Travis Diole, who was now his first mate, reported with a perfect salute.

  A quiet smile crossed Blackbeard’s face upon hearing that title. Oh, he was a Captain no matter his real rank. Edward nodded at the man who proudly wore the Arcadian uniform and a professional expression. Travis's face was marred by a long scar that reinforced his former reputation as a pirate which he kept despite the impressive abilities of the Arcadian Healers.

  "Release moorings and slow turn for departure, First, and contact Avalon Control, Communication."

  "Aye, aye, Sir!" Another repentant pirate confirmed and began the steady ritual of calling the control tower.

  "Queen Anne's Revenge, this is Avalon Control speaking. Are you secure to sail?" A female voice replied to them almost immediately, multiple other muffled conversations were in the background of her transmission.

  "Avalon Control, this is Queen Anne's Revenge, Rear Admiral Edward Teach. Affirmative. Anne's ready to sail, we only need coordinates for a jump."

  Blackbeard replied in accordance with protocol, the same protocol he sneered at in the beginning until he personally visited Avalon Control. The number of calls those officers were responsible for and the safety of air routes above not only the capital but the entirety of the Central Arcadia they had to address was staggering. It was easy to imagine what a single mistake in properly identifying their caller could cause.

  "Queen Anne's Revenge, take route 1-alpha to jump point A. You are clear to jump on your mark, I'm sending you the coordinates now. We wouldn't mind if you brought us some souvenirs, Admiral! Good luck and happy hunting, Queen Anne's." The woman replied with a cheerful voice. "Avalon Control, out!"

  "Thank you, Avalon Control. I will see what we can do about bringing you some trinkets. Queen Anne's Revenge, out." He laughed and looked at his crew whose eyes glowed dangerously.

  Oh, they were scum and murderers but they were smart and sided with the greatest Empire in the world. They were the winners in the most important lottery called life.

  "So which one of you bastards is flirting with Captain Jenny of Avalon Control?" He grinned and crossed his huge arms.

  "That would be me, Sir! We are dating now..." The weapon officer sheepishly raised his hand and the bridge erupted into cheers full of disbelief.

  "I'll be damn, William..." Blackbeard patted his signature beard with a grin, shook his head and took out ten gold coins. "I was sure you were too shy to talk to a woman and damn... If I weren't married to the hottest gal already I would certainly make puppy eyes at Captain Jenny!"

  The First Mate collected the money from everyone who lost the bet and locked it in the bridge's safe. They all laughed and, before anyone noticed, they had reached the jump point beyond the shields of Avalon. They all were nervous and a lighthearted subject helped even veterans like them to pass the time.

  "We are in position, Sir. The jump drive is charging..." The navigation officer, the only person on the bridge who was never a pirate, responded. He had been quickly assimilated and accepted by the crew. Everyone straightened in their chairs as his calm voice silenced them.

  "Shields up, weapons active, set CIWS to automatic target acquisition and elimination, main cannons only manual," Blackbeard ordered without a trace of his previously joyful mood. "Evasive manoeuvres without authorisation, I want to have the actual tactical data as soon as we have it."

  The round of confirmation rumbled across the bridge.

  "We are ready to jump at your mark, Sir!"

  Blackbeard took one glance at the faces looking at him in focus and smiled. They were the best soldiers. "Jump."

  In a flash, the airship crossed the hundreds of kilometres between Avalon and wherever in the Ancient Forest Captain Jenny had chosen for them. Emerging from the teleport was always the most dangerous part while people were disoriented and they needed a few seconds to gather their bearings. The golem cores installed in the CIWS emplacements, however, didn't have such petty problems. Their magitech brains analysed and assessed the situation a split second after the ship's arrival. This time, they remained silent. Nothing disturbed their sensitive detectors or complicated enchantments that made them work in the first place.

  "Clear." A single word coming from the sensor officer cut the tension on the bridge like a knife.

  "All right, crew. We are heading south with a slight correction to the west. We are, essentially, following a long parabola." He projected calm and nodded at the first mate who started giving precise orders.

  "Captain?" The weapon officer approached his command throne and handed him a slip of paper.

  Blackbeard looked at it with a raised brow. It turned out to be an envelope he needed to open with a knife. The weight of the order and clarity of who gave it came naturally as breathing. His eyes rested on the even but not especially impressive handwriting of Theon Avalon. It was almost disappointing to see how mundane, or even poor, the handwriting of the most powerful person in the Arcadian Empire was. Blackbeard read the short order with a held breath. At the last word, in a flash of flames, the letter was turned to nothingness not leaving even ash behind. The order left him thoughtful and slightly worried. From an operational standpoint, it made perfect sense. But from a humanitarian? This was a nightmare.

  Preemptive strike executed the moment Vestargo's Dungeon is discovered. A saturated bombardment with cluster munitions, followed by multiple precise strikes. Then, invasion and total annihilation.

  There would be countless victims of following this order considering that Vestargo was certainly going to have slaves within his domain. The Emperor was well aware of it. He wasn't trying to argue it was necessary. But, no matter what they did, the death toll will be steep. The Emperor simply refused to pay it in Arcadian blood. Edward was painfully aware that they couldn't allow Vestargo to live. Without him, the remaining people scattered in the Forest could be saved and spared the cruel fate of cattle. He was also aware that they couldn't hesitate and how this order would weigh on the conscience of the remaining Captains. But his hands were bloodied anyway. His crew won't hesitate.

  He would follow this order to make sure that his wife wouldn't have to execute it.

  They travelled at half speed because they needed to maintain their optical camouflage and hide their magic signature as much as possible. Their ship was the biggest one in the entire fleet with such capabilities but Queen Anne's Revenge, officially known as HMS Assassin, was built with that in mind. She was also the fastest airship in full stealth so she was perfect for this mission. Below them, the familiar landscape of a carpet of massive trees dominated the view. Every time any landmark caught the attention of the spotters, it was marked on maps with its coordinates. However, the mission itself was boring which was dangerous considering they were potentially close to Vestargo himself. They had travelled for hours, already, and night had fallen before he noticed the time. Ten hours of watching a green carpet that refused to allow snow to mar it on every screen. He was ready for some rest when the sensor officer straightened in his seat.

  "Sir? We are picking up signals typical of Bug Titans, south-west of our course. There are... Gods... Dozens of them. One hundred Titan-class signatures!"

  "By thy Gods... We found him." The First Officer whispered as the radar image was displayed.

  "We don't know that for sure." Blackbeard felt his heart hammering in his chest when he shook his head but he mentally agreed. "Communication, prepare to transmit our location on all channels. Navigation, prepare for the jump back to Avalon. However, we are going to drop any attempt at masking five kilometres before reaching the Dungeon and accelerate to full speed. Would it be enough for us to jump away the moment we confirm the Dungeon's identity?"

  "Sir, we should jump away immediately. We won't survive against that many Titans." The tactical officer protested grimly.

  Blackbeard hesitated and closed his eyes.

  "If we contact Avalon, we will be detected immediately." He said with a determined voice.. "Am I correct?"

  "If that's him... Well, I see no other reason why he would keep so many Titans near a random Dungeon. We must assume that Vestargo will be aware of our presence once we call Avalon." The tactical officer clenched his fists.

  "Prepare the preemptive strike," Blackbeard said grimly with a voice that echoed in the silent bridge. "Red alarm."

  "Yes, Sir!" The officers bellowed.

  "Admiral! That would kill all slaves in that Dungeon!" The navigation officer protested.

  "Duncan, you can leave the bridge," Blackbeard said softly. "But we have to make sure that this bastard is softened before the rest of the fleet arrives. Otherwise, thousands of our people will die."

  "I will remain at my post, Sir." The navigation officer dropped into his chair, pale and slightly trembling but in his eyes Edward saw the grim realisation.

  "Very well." Blackbeard looked at the two officers who were discussing something. "Tactical?"

  "We are going to use cluster warheads then we will follow with insecticides. With some luck, we may be able to recover some of the slaves afterwards. However, I advise targeting as many Titans as possible. The more we destroy in the first wave-" He stopped upon seeing Blackbeard’s raised palm.

  "Proceed." He simply said, keeping the Emperor's order to himself. He was proud of his people. "We aren't doing anything against my orders so don't worry. The Emperor has suspected for a long time that Vestargo would be using his slaves as living shields. But that ends today."

  They looked at him with determination in their eyes. He knew that look very well. Even the pale Navigation Officer knew the stakes.

  "Missiles have their coordinates and individual targets are set. Ready on your mark, Admiral."

  "Fire." Blackbeard pressed the button that released the entire payload of Queen Anne's Revenge.

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

  The map of Aderon is on my Discord :)

  https://discord.gg/G6SVrBeDdG